Brothers take on their toughest challenge yet

The Mayor of Coleraine, Councillor David Harding was delighted to welcome Minister for Culture Caral Ni Chuilin to Coleraine, pictured here with Olympic Silver medallist Peter Chambers, his parents Mr and Mrs Chambers and also welcomed by parents of Olympic medallist, Mr and Mrs Campbell during the Minister's visit to Coleraine.

Published:11:22Tuesday 24 September 2013

OLYMPIC rowers Peter and Richard Chambers, have undertaken one of their biggest challenges by joining teenage girls in Uganda on a dangerous trek to bring water to their families.

The brothers struggled to keep up under the blazing African sun as they helped 13-year-old Jaellet and Doreen carry water 6km to an isolated village. It’s a four-hour walk which the girls have to take every day to keep their families alive.

“If they don’t get water they don’t survive and they don’t get to cook their food, there’s nothing to cook their food in,” said Richard.

“You go down and collect they water and carry it up. You’ve got this sloshing about in a jerry can and it’s incredibly difficult - and for us to keep up was a challenge.”

Peter and Richard were in Uganda for the launch of a project by the Christian charity Tearfund NI. Tim Magowan from the organisation urged anyone who can to join their campaign.

He explained: “We’ve helped over 300,000 people access clean water - that’s an amazing story of change, but there’s 200,000 still to go.”